Mumbai University students set up relief camps and community kitchens for needy

Mumbai: Setting up an unprecedented example, students of Mumbai University along with some of the few other universities in the state have set up 15 voluntary relief camps and community kitchens for migrant labourers and underprivileged residents stuck in the state.

Under the supervision and enthusiasm of student activist Kiran Salunkhe, students of Mumbai University, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and Gandhi polytechnic school have set up a relief camp on a 2 acre ground in Asalpha. The relief camp hosts migrant labourers and destitute of the city deprived of their basic necessities.

As many as 50 beds have been placed on the ground and a distance of three feet is maintained between each bed. A community kitchen has been set up on the ground, where pitches are marked leaving a one metre gap to avoid physical contact.

It is also a multifaith effort as religious bodies like ISKCON and Chakala Gurudwara had also extended support while Andheri East's United Missionary school has provided it's buses for transport.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has provided water tankers and mobile toilets on the ground. The civic body has also deployed sanitation workers who will be stationed at the camp 24×7.

As many as 800 students from different colleges, universities and polytechnic schools are involved in the project, wherein they have set up as many as 15 relief camps which are run solely by students. Students and youth leaders from various organisations have spearheaded the project and mobilised volunteers.

“The purpose of setting up community kitchens and relief camps to help poor and needy students, daily wage workers without considering their religion, caste, creed and race have been inspired by Dr BR Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi ji’s social service. We are proud to showcase patriotism and unity in this manner" said Nikhil Kamble, student leader and member of National Students Union of India (NSUI).

Volunteers will be shifting some of the slum dwellers too in the venue.

"Our service is not just confined to the migrant labourers. We will be shifting people who are living in slums and the doctors will examine them." said Sunil Shinde, student and social activist.

"This is a voluntary cause and people across religion and institutions have come together in this time of crisis. We are humans first and are letting humanity serve it's purpose" added Shinde.